#us-greenhouse-gas-emissions

#us-greenhouse-gas-emissions

After two years of declines, United States greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2025-a change driven by increased electricity use, due in part to data centers and cryptocurrency mining, as well as cold winter temperatures that meant homes required more heating. Emissions increased 2.4% in 2025, according to preliminary data from the research firm Rhodium Group. That's higher than the country's GDP growth, which increased by a projected 1.9%.

One of the largest and most developed countries in the world, the United States is also one of the worst polluters globally. The U.S. remains one of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters - currently behind China and India in total annual emissions - but it continues to lead all nations except China in cumulative historical output. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were about 6.34 billion metric tons of CO₂-equivalent in 2022, and 2023 data showed a modest decline.

The most abrupt shift in energy and climate policy in recent memory that has occurred since Trump re-entered the White House will have profound consequences for the global climate crisis by slowing the pace of US emissions cuts by as much as half the rate achieved over the past two decades, the Rhodium Group forecast states. The US is still expected to reduce its planet-heat emissions by between 26% and 35% by 2035 compared with 2005 levels, according to the report.